She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
She had overslept so badly that she was nearly late to school, which meant her appearance was a mess. But she was so satisfied with her work that she didn’t care. She kept looking at her inbox and grinning at those five words. Even when she was with her close friends, she spent most of her time gazing off into the distance.
The time it took Airi to get from school to her house was 30 minutes by train, 20 by bus, then 10 by bike. An hour in total.
Normally, after school was over, she’d spend some time chatting with her friends, and only get home at 6:00 PM. She would enter the empty house (her parents would be at work), take a quick shower, and prepare a light meal. By the time she logged in, it would be 7:00 PM. She got sweatier in the summer, so her showers had been on the long side lately, but the one she took today was fast enough to scare a crow.
She had also made do with fast food on the way home, so by the time she was ready to log on, it was only 6:30. She put on the Miraive Gear X — a gesture familiar to her by now — then lay down on her bed. She watched with impatience, this time, as the standard Pony Entertainment, Inc. title logo beamed slowly into view in her consciousness.
Hurry, hurry, take me to that world!
As Narrow Fantasy Online finally booted up, Airi Kakitsubata transformed into the Alchemist, Iris.
When she opened her eyes, she was in her usual compact little workshop. She wondered whether, if she went outside, she would find the Dragonet man standing there smiling at her impudently once again. But naturally, perhaps, he wasn’t there this time. She felt just a little bit disappointed.
Iris took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She knew that taking deep breaths did not mechanically offer a relaxing effect on the body in this world, but it still helped her to regain her calm.
The Seller Avatar was programmed to answer basic questions about her, so the young heir would know that she usually logged in around 7:30 every night. He’d surely come by then. She found the name Ichiro Tsuwabuki on her friends list, and sent him a message to let him know she’d be waiting in front of her store.
But what should she do until he came?
She thought about making potions like usual, but was there something else she should give priority to? Oh, yes. She had to level up her Create Armor skill.
Iris knew, secondhand, that there were two ways to make armor: with a recipe, and without. If you wanted to make something you knew would work out the way you wanted it, you chose the former. But it was also possible to just throw together components and an existing armor with the Alchemist-only Art “Alchemical Circle” to make something more or less workable.
Having the sub-class Blacksmith, Iris could also use Iron Forge, but there was no real difference between the two Arts, aside from whether they pulled from the intelligence or strength stat. Her Arts level for Alchemical Circle was higher, as well, so there was simply no reason not to use it instead.
Iris checked her money on the status screen, then began marching around the booths in the back alleys. She bought up practically free, seemingly useless component items, and random bits of old armor with barely any durability left, and returned to her own residence.
She didn’t know how much higher she would be able to get her Skill level today, but she had to get it as high as she could. Iris activated her magic circle from her inventory, and threw the Medieval Chainmail, the Fieldgorn Horn, and the Vulture Wing she had bought into it.
She could choose the finished design for the parts, but to save time, she just chose the default one. Then, she closed her eyes and focused her mind. The use of spellcaster Arts didn’t require much in the way of special equipment or actions. A powerful imagination was the most important thing.
Her workshop darkened as a visual took shape, one of particles of light floating up from a circle. A crest made from light took shape above the circle, as well, shining even brighter. She could feel it. In her mind, she struck a forceful pose.
Clunk.
Doodly-doodly-doo.
A cheap BGM sounded out, followed by a galling “You failed to make it.” message window. What sat above the magic circle now was just some kind of unidentifiable scrap. She picked it up, and saw a popup window this time that said, “Add Failure to inventory?”
“Ugh, that didn’t go well...” she murmured.
But she wouldn’t give up. It was okay to fail. It was true that successes would increase her level faster, but rather than taking time to figure out combinations that were easy to succeed at, it was faster for now to just keep failing and failing. Iris put the items and armor on top of the magic circle again, and imagined...
Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.
Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.
Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.
Clunk. Dat-data-dat-daaa!
Clunk. Doodly-doodly-doo.
In the end, out of dozens and dozens of trial and error combinations, only one of them succeeded. She threw the remaining Failures in the trash and looked at the one completed armor.
By coincidence, it seemed she had managed to succeed at a special combination, which offered a unique graphic different from the leather armor it had once been.
Leaf Armor. Defense Bonus +2. Skill Slots +1. Durability 5/5.
Oh, come on! How exactly is this armor?! she thought indignantly. As far as she could see, it was just a single leaf! There was no fashion beast brave enough to try this on.
Iris didn’t realize this, but the Leaf Armor was actually considered one of the new armor-maker’s best options, and it had increased her Skill points significantly. She was very lucky to have succeeded on the first try, but thanks to that, her Create Armor Skill had increased by two levels.
The others were all failures in the end, but it was still quite fun. The hard work of creation was a different sort of enjoyment from that of thinking up designs. She was just following the rules built into the system to find the right answer, but successes still provided some of the ecstasy of solving a difficult riddle through trial and error. This was the primary way crafting classes enjoyed themselves in the game.
But she couldn’t afford to be distracted by that. The young heir wanted her to make something for him. That was the one thing she mustn’t lose sight of.
Just then, she heard an electronic “ding,” and a window opened to inform her that she’d received a new message.
It was from Tsuwabuki Ichiro. The young heir!
Not bothering to read the message, she flew out of the workshop. It was exactly 7:00 PM.
The Dragonet stood there with the same cool smile he’d had yesterday. “Oh, hello.”
“Thanks for coming. Um, is this a friend of yours?” she asked.
Standing next to the young heir was a middle-aged Knight clad in heavy full plate mail. He had slicked-back silver hair, masculine features, and the wrinkles on his face told of a long history of battle. Of course, “long history” was just a turn of phrase. The game hadn’t even been around for a full year yet.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” the Knight said. “I am Kirschwasser, a Knight. I have served House Tsuwabuki loyally for generations...”
“Ah, Sir,” the young heir interrupted. “Please, none of that roleplay right now. It’s nonsense.”
The young heir’s interruption of the introduction caused the man named Kirschwasser to slump over slightly. “I see. Well, I see to the Tsuwabuki family in real life, as well. My master wanted to form a guild, and he needed another person.”
He “saw to him”? Was this man a servant, then? Iris wondered. She knew that the young heir had money, so maybe having a butler wouldn’t be completely surprising.
“That’s right. As I mentioned in my message, I saw your design sheet,” Ichiro said. “I’m impressed that you could come up with that in one night.”
“Heh heh heh!” Iris sniffed proudly as the young heir brought up that subject. He had even said, “I’m glad I asked you.” She felt like that was certainly something worth being proud of.
“Not to be arrogant, but it was pretty good, huh?” she asked.
“Yes, quite good. I can see the influence from Dunhill and Armani and Prada, but for something made by a girl like you overnight, it’s quite good.”
She could hear her self-confidence harden and crack. And then the next thing he said...
“From an objective point of view, I probably could have made a better design myself.”
At the young heir’s side, Kirschwasser was cradling his face in his hands.
Naturally, Iris turned scarlet and blew her top. The Miraive Gear’s brainwave scanner traced Airi Kakitsubata’s emotional state, and displayed the Alchemist Airi with a manga-style overreaction.
Praise me to the sky, you idiot! She felt so ashamed she wanted to tear the Dragonet to pieces where he stood.
“Then... then maybe you should have designed it!” she exclaimed.
“Nonsense. I have no interest in things considered ‘objectively good.’ I decide what I believe is good.” But the man remained buoyant. “You worked all night to put together an original design for me. That effort is important. No matter what the rest of the world might say, I believe that this is good. I’m glad I asked you. That was no lie. I personally like this design, even if no one else does.”
Why couldn’t he just compliment her in a way that would make her happy? Kirschwasser looked mortified, as well. He likely wanted to offer suggestions on parts that the young heir could trim from his statement. It was really just pathetic.
Iris spoke again, trembling. “Next time, I’ll create a design that’ll make not just you, but the world gasp in shock...”
“Yes, I do hope you will.” It was a bit eerie, hearing the young heir say those words, so Iris decided to leave it rather than pursue it.
The bizarre war of words had left her strangely tired, even though she seemed to be the only one who saw it as an argument, or felt at all drained by it.
The young heir’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. Like an Evil Toad hit with “Acid Ray.”
“So, what are we going to do?” Iris asked. “Make a guild?”
“Yes, let’s go make one,” Ichiro said. “There’s a branch of the Adventurers’ Guild in Glasgobara, after all.”
“I believe all we have to do is bring a party of three to talk to the receptionist NPC,” Kirschwasser agreed.
The Dragonet Magi-Fencer, the Human Knight, and the Elf Alchemist walked together down the alley. It was a curious combination for a party. Most people would raise an eyebrow at the suggestion that they were going to create a crafting guild. Fortunately, the receptionist NPC asked only the pre-programmed questions, which saved them a lot of trouble.
The Adventurers’ Guild in Glasgobara sat at the end of the town’s main street, with the Akihabara Forging Guild in a seat of honor to its left. Aside from the inns, the guild was the only place on main street that didn’t have ironworking smoke pouring out of it.
“By the way, will you be the guild leader, young heir?” Iris asked.
“Hmm, I suppose so,” Ichiro considered. “Though if you especially want to do it, I’ll concede leadership to you.”
“No, that’s okay,” Iris said.
They bantered lightly back and forth at the reception desk while talking to the NPC.
“What do you think we should name the guild?” Kirschwasser asked.
“Does it matter?” Iris replied. “We’re going to break it up right after, right?”
“Actually, I already know what our guild name will be,” Ichiro Tsuwabuki said, in a tone that — unusually, for him — suggested a double meaning to his words.
Once he finished selecting their starting members and guild classification, the NPC formed the guild, and then asked for its name. A touch window appeared, and the young heir tapped a few key panels in it.
Iris Brand.
“Iris Brand?” Iris, whose character name was being used without permission, repeated in a dumbfounded tone. Surprisingly — well actually, not at all surprisingly — the young heir did not bat an eye at her objection.
“That’s right,” he said. “You’re the one creating my armor, so shouldn’t the name be something along those lines?”
“What’s your real game?” Iris demanded.
“Nonsense. I don’t wish to say it right now.”
“Then at least put more effort into the lie!” she shouted.
Next, the NPC asked about what should happen to the guild’s funds if it ever broke up for some reason, and if they would like to put money into the guild’s account immediately. The young heir answered both without hesitation. It was as if he had planned it all out from the start.
What are your Guild Skills?
“What shall I choose?” he wondered. It was the only time he asked for input.
A crafting guild would naturally choose “Ironworks” or “Laboratory,” to increase item production efficiency as much as possible, but it wouldn’t take that long for Iris to complete one set of armor, and she would be the only one receiving the benefit in the meantime.
To create armor would also require the collection of ingredients, so there were also choices for “Searcher,” which would let members re-roll their drop items once, and “Explorer,” which let them encounter mobs that had a lower spawn rate. Increasing their guild’s favorability rating would also allow them to acquire more Guild Skills down the line, but that point was moot for them.
In the end, they decided that the two guild skills they could acquire would be “Ironworks” and “Searcher.” Now all that remained was to choose their guild house. It wasn’t necessary to have one, but if they wanted one, Iris thought it would be best to choose her room in the back alley.
To construct a house on main street will cost one million galt, the NPC said.
“That should do it,” Ichiro said. There was a cha-ching sound, and the young heir’s cash on hand reduced by 1 million.
“Why?!” Iris shouted. “You won’t have enough to pay me! Even if we’re in the same guild, creating armor is still a business!”
“I still have nine million left,” he said. “Will that not be enough?”
“Not at all! Not nearly enough!”
This was how the conversation went every time. Iris one-sidedly attacked him, Ichiro remained unfazed, and as a result, Iris was left running recklessly on a treadmill. A sad sight. Iris was sick of it, but she had a feeling this wasn’t the last time they were going to have this dance.
They finished the process and placed their guild house, causing part of the map of Glasgobara to be redrawn.
Kirschwasser gazed at the new map, murmuring. “This is right across from the Forging Guild’s house...”
If only Iris had then seen those words as the foreboding sign they were.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Itchy, even in the game, you’re bourgeoisie!” Felicia exclaimed.
“I just had nothing else to spend it on,” Ichiro responded coolly. “I’m sure there are top players in the game with ten million or more.”
Iris was starting to enjoy having Felicia around to say everything she wanted to say to the young heir for her. She wondered if Kirschwasser, who was with Ichiro as his servant all the time, felt the same way.
Felicia had looked troubled as she’d listened to Iris’s talk about how the guild house was created. If the tactless way the young heir had talked about her back at Iris Brand was true, then maybe she really had wanted to form a guild with him.
“So you created the guild to have your equipment made?” Felicia asked.
“Well, that was the original intent,” Ichiro said.
“Hrmmm...” Felicia scowled. She was likely fighting with the urge to say, “Why don’t you close it now, then?” But apparently not even she could be that selfish.
“I know how you feel, Lady Felicia.” Sir Kirschwasser sipped his tea with a placid expression. “I felt the same way. When I asked about the circumstances behind his desire to create a guild, the answer shocked me beyond the capacity for words.”
“If you were beyond the capacity for words, you wouldn’t be able to talk,” Ichiro said.
“As you can see, this is the kind of person Master Ichiro is.”
As his real-life servant, Kirschwasser was likely used to this sort of thing. Even so, anyone would be struck dumb by the news that he’d requested armor from a girl he’d just met, who had a low Create Armor level; and moreover, that he had formed a guild to shoulder the unknown, likely-to-balloon cost burden for it.
“I had been hoping to form my own guild with Master Ichiro... but well, this is fun in its own way.” Sir Kirschwasser, ever the considerate adult, cast a wink her way as he spoke. “And it means we have Iris with us.”
He really was considerate. He really was completely unlike the young heir in that regard.
“Hmmm...” Felicia screwed up her face, working hard to process all this.
As the conversation threatened to come to a standstill, Ichiro quickly cut to the chase. “And that was more or less the way we founded the guild. Afterwards, all we had to do was get Iris to work creating my armor. I wanted to be meticulous with the components, so we had a great deal of discussion as to what armor should be used as the base.”
“Components?” Felicia asked.
“For instance, the underlying data for the jacket I’m wearing is that of the Radiant Armor, and to make Radiant Armor, you need a Radiant Morpho Wing. The jacket itself has a butterfly wing motif, so I wanted components that evoked that image. Hence, the use of Radiant Armor as the base.”
Incidentally, some of the pieces of Ichiro’s armor used pay-to-download blueprints to make, and every time Iris failed, Ichiro had had to buy new blueprints with real money. But Iris opted not to mention that. Even without that, she didn’t want to think about how much real money the young heir had been forced to spend because of her.
She didn’t want to, but...
...if the success rate was 1%, and each graphics change cost 800 yen, then to create the entire suit of equipment had likely cost somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 yen.
Narrow Fantasy Online was an MMORPG. Iris didn’t know much about games, but she knew that in this genre of game, the object was to make oneself stronger to defeat more powerful enemies. She also knew that there were people known as “whales” who threw vast quantities of money down the drain to accomplish this.
She had heard incredible stories of whales to whom 400,000 or 600,000 yen was mere pocket change. But even then, the money would be going to more efficient ways of making their characters more powerful. To spend that much money simply for the sake of “appearance” — which had nothing to do with the game’s authoritative barometer of “strength” — was simply absurd. And on top of all that, he was even paying for the blueprints.
Although she was grateful for the young heir’s proposal, this was all beyond Iris’s understanding.
No, it wasn’t beyond her understanding. She had a feeling that she did have a hint as to why he was doing this. She thought back to a journey she had taken to the deepest part of the volcanoes with the young heir, searching for ingredients for the belt...
◆ ◆ ◆
A shadow large enough to block out the sky lurked between the ravines of burbling lava. Its skin was stained black from extended heat exposure, and unlike many of its species, it did not merely “contain” metal. It was pure Magi-Metal itself. This fearsome life form, with its unyielding armor and formidable magic resistance, was believed to exist only in legends.
It was a Magi-Metal Dragon.
The form of a man stepped impudently up to it.
The dragon snorted hellfire from its nose. “Descendant mine... Why troddest thou upon this forbidden soil?”
“Actually, I want one of your scales to make my new belt,” Ichiro said.
No one, since the quest’s original release, had ever come before this dragon admitting to such a self-serving reason. The beast was unimaginably huge, its entire body rendered in meticulous graphic detail. Its two eyes, like drops of blood, were so lifelike that it was easy to forget it was just a game. It invoked such a primordial terror that even the terminology and walkthrough wikis warned it could send players into a panic at the sight of it.
But the only thing on Ichiro’s mind was...
“Did you hear that, Iris? It looks like its conversational patterns change when dealing with Dragonet players!”
“I see! Great attention to detail, huh!” Iris shouted back. She was hiding behind a huge boulder, about 50 meters away from Ichiro.
How had she gotten herself into this mess? What was she doing here? The sight of the enormous dragon had caused her knees to buckle. On a whim, she had asked to go with the heir to collect materials. How could she have been such a fool?
Volcanic Dragon Volgund had been an earlier Grand Quest boss. The Magi-Metal Dragons were its kin. Dragons only spawned in this region if you accepted a quest from a nearby village to bring a “Dragon Gem” dropped by dragon-type mobs to the village elder. But even if you took that quest, there was no particular need to go hunting for the most ferocious of all dragons, the Magi-Metal, to complete it.
Yet it was Iris who had boldly written “Magi-Metal Dragon Scale Belt” on the final draft of the young heir’s clothing design. Of course, she was regretting that now.